


Season Changes

by MacBeth13



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Spring, Summer, Winter, fall - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-28
Updated: 2013-03-30
Packaged: 2017-12-06 17:45:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/738380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MacBeth13/pseuds/MacBeth13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes there were days when there were no monsters, days when he could hear the laughter and enjoy the moments he had with his friends, his beautiful Ponds, and he treasured those moments because he knew it couldn't last forever.</p><p>Four-chaptered story each taking place during Earth's seasons. Very Doctor/River centric. Spoilers and implied spoilers up to and including season 7 and some of my own speculation for the future. Each chapter can be a stand-alone story. Sugary sweet fluff with a side of angst (because at this point it's hard to avoid).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Glitters In The Starlight

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Not mine, I leave that joy to more brilliant minds.

It was late Christmas night. Another Christmas with his Ponds. A few Christmases after the Doctor returned to his Ponds expecting to find them thinking he was dead. River had saved him the trouble of explaining that deception. He had helped the Arwell family and had come here at Madge’s insistence that year. He was glad he did. Christmas with his beautiful Ponds.

They had saved a place for him again this year, just like Amy said they always did. He dined with them and enjoyed being with his friends and his wife who had turned up as well. They laughed and were merry and did all the things friends and family should do to celebrate the holiday.

The house was quiet now. He had promised Amy he wouldn’t disappear in the night. He even vowed he’d make breakfast in the morning. Promises made, Amy and Rory had finally retreated to their room about half an hour ago. River was just finishing cleaning up, something she insisted upon doing reasoning that her parents had cooked. The Doctor could hear her putting away the dish towel and turning off the lights.

The Doctor was standing in front of a window looking out. He wasn’t really seeing what was outside; his vision was set more introspectively, lost in his own thoughts. He heard River’s soft footsteps in her stocking feet announce her entrance to the room. 

“You’re awfully quiet of a sudden,” she commented.

“Just thinking.”

“About?”

“Family, friends, Christmas.”

“Hmm,” she hummed and hugged him from behind and kissed his shoulder. “You’re welcome to join me in my room if you’d like to get some rest, sweetie.” It was a true offer without any overtures intended but she could see from his reflection in the window that he smiled just the same, but the smile didn't reach his eyes that held years of memories behind them. River gave him one last squeeze then departed to her room.

A few moments later, after she had brushed her teeth but before she had time to undress the Doctor came running into her room. He didn’t say anything, just smiled and grabbed her hand, pulling her along with him to the front door.

“What is it?”

“You’ll see.”

“Well it’s got to be good if it’s got you this excited.”

“Snow, River! It’s snowing! On Christmas! Real snow, proper snow, not ash or anything like that. Real Christmas snow! Not the mushy kind that melts into slush on the street. This kind is good snow! The kind of snow that glitters in the starlight!” His giddiness was infectious and she hurried to pull her shoes and coat on. He grabbed her hand again and they hurtled out the door.

The Doctor stuck his arms out and ran around the sidewalk like a plane making the appropriate noises. River laughed at his antics then joined him on the sidewalk closing the door behind her. She closed her eyes and turned her face up to the sky feeling the snowflakes whisper across her skin. She opened her eyes to watch them fall then stuck her arms out and spun slowly, eyes drifting closed again.

The Doctor watched River. She looked so beautiful. Snowflakes clung to her curls, glittering like fairy dust. In a smooth motion he walked quietly up to her, matched her spin and took her in his arms in a classical waltz hold. Amy woke to find River and the Doctor gone and suspecting they were leaving in the TARDIS without saying goodbye rushed to the front door expecting to hear the ship's familiar sound and was about to shout after the couple when she opened her front door. Instead she saw the pair dancing on the sidewalk enjoying the snowfall. The scene was so pretty all she could utter was an awed ’oh’ and she watched quietly for a few moments before leaving the couple to their moment. The Doctor danced with River to an unheard tune on the silent street for a long while while the glittering snowflakes continued drifting down around them.


	2. An Ocean of Bluebells and Cherry Blossom Snow

“Wait ‘til you see it, River! It’s magnificent! Bluebells as far as the eye can see!”

River watched her husband fly the TARDIS to the destination he was speaking of. Spring had sprung, or so he had told her. The Doctor was so excited that he did not even mind River’s corrections to his flying, a switch here, a lever there, or maybe in his excitement he had not noticed. At any rate his excitement was infectious, as always.

The TARDIS landed with the noisy fanfare that was so familiar as a result of the Doctor leaving the brakes on. He ran down the steps and the ramp and pulled the doors open. Bright sunlight and fresh spring air came streaming in through the open doors. After continuous rain, day and night, at Stormcage the sunlight and warm air was a welcome change and had River running after the Doctor to the outside.

The colours outside seemed to glow in shades of blue and the vibrant green of spring. Pollen from the trees floated in the air. Trees with buds of pale green towered over the fields of blue and in the middle of this visage stood one old and wizened cherry tree, its crooked limbs covered in pale pink blooms. A sight so beautiful it stole her breath away for a moment.

Just as soon as River came outside and was about to close the door to the TARDIS the Doctor stopped her.

“Just have to grab something. Be back in a tick!” he called out disappearing again into his beloved blue box. River stepped out into the field of blue and floated her hand above the blooms, not touching the flowers. When the Doctor re-emerged he was carrying a large case. River raised a quizzical eyebrow but the Doctor only smiled and she took that to mean it was a surprise he would get to.

The pair carefully trudged their way to the old cherry tree. Birds in the trees flitted from limb to limb above them. It was when they reached the cherry tree that he opened the case to reveal a long lens camera and tripod. He set the camera up on the tripod and fixed it pointed at the cherry tree.

“Go stand under the tree,” the Doctor directed River.

“So this is why you had me dress like this,” she commented on her attire. He had insisted she make her way to the wardrobe where waiting for her was a beautiful Regency era empire waist gown made of fine cloth in the shade of light mint green with a light rose sash under the bust. It looked as if he had ordered the dress made in the times of Jane Austin and most probably did. There was a golden straw bonnet that tied with a pink ribbon that matched the dress’ sash. There was also a pair of white elbow-length gloves.

The Doctor had River pose for several different pictures before she insisted he join her. He set the camera on a timer and joined her under the blossoming tree. They did a few ‘normal’ poses then some silly ones. By far, though, after he had developed the photographs, the ones he treasured most were the ones that showed them kissing under the cherry tree, oceans of bluebells around them as the gentle breeze made the cherry blossom petals cascade around them like pale pink snow.


	3. Private Island and Glowing Waters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Series 7 Spoilers* I'm one of the people who believe the Doctor's timeline was wibbly-wobbly for the first half of series seven and that some of the adventures seen took place, from his point of view, after The Angels Take Manhattan. I would imagine that he would have squeezed in as many trips as he could and so this would be one of those trips.

“Now this is what I call a vacation spot,” Amy said stepping out of the TARDIS, her husband Rory right behind her, feet falling on sun-warmed sand. After a few adventures the Doctor had promised the couple a quiet day without any perils. He was at a point in his timeline where he treasured every moment with his Ponds and was okay with a day spent not running from some kind of danger. True to his word he brought them here, to a small uninhabited tropical island.

“Hey!” Amy exclaimed upon finding a hammock tied between two palm trees. “Thought you said no one knew about this place?”

“No one does, except us of course. I put that there.”

“You? When were you here last, Doctor? And why?”

“Not too long ago and…it’s a surprise.”

“Uh, hopefully not the bitey kind of surprise,” Rory said knowing the Doctor’s usual M.O.

“Well maybe, but I promise I’ll only nibble on the Doctor,” a familiar voice said.

“River!” both Amy and Rory exclaimed. They both ran forward to hug their daughter.

“How long have you been here?” Rory asked.

“Since early this morning.”

“You two had an adventure last night, while we were sleeping, again, didn’t you?” Amy stressed the 'again' part.

“Mm, you could call it an adventure,” River said caressing the Doctor under the chin as she walked by him with a knowing smirk.

“Parents standing right here,” Rory said gesturing with his hands to emphasize his point.

“Anyway, so I’ve set up some blankets and built a fire pit for tonight and there’s plenty of fruit for the taking all around in the forest here.”

“And…I have fishing poles!” the Doctor exclaimed lifting the poles from against the tree he had left them leaning against.

“Sweetie, I think you should change first.”

“Hmm? Oh. Yeah. Right,” the Doctor said looking down at his usual attire, tweed jacket, trousers, bowtie and braces. “Don’t have too much fun without me!" he shouted back as he went back inside the TARDIS.

They were expecting to see him re-emerge wearing something outrageous and were pleasantly surprised when he exited the TARDIS wearing a pair of fairly normal swim trunks, a T-shirt and a pair of sandals. He was also thoughtful enough to have grabbed a stack of thick fluffy towels.

“Thank you for grabbing extra towels,” River said taking them and setting them in the middle of their blanket set-up.

“Well you can never have too many towels,” he commented flailing his hands.

“Ah, now this is a vacation,” Rory sighed as he lay back on the beach blanket, his head on Amy’s lap. She smiled down at her husband and began stroking his hair lazily.

“Ooh, hammocks,” the Doctor said rubbing his hands together, a big grin on his face. “I love a good hammock!” He ran toward the hammock and was about to jump onto the hammock when he recalled his failed leap at the Arwell’s. Carefully he sat down in the hammock and started to swing. “So what should we do first?”

“First, we put on sun block. Nothing ruins a vacation faster than being as red as a cooked lobster,” River said picking up a bottle of suntan lotion. She had already put some on given that she had been on the island since early morning but was happy to have her husband help apply some to her back and was just as pleased to return the favour. The Doctor did like to say that he was alien and his skin reacted differently but admitted after prodding that he wasn’t infallible and conceded to putting on the lotion. When River won that argument she winked at Amy making her smile.

They spent the day swimming in the warm clear waters, snorkelling to see the tropical fish, they collected fruit from the forest, River double checked everything to make sure it was safe for eating. Rory and the Doctor attempted to fish while River and Amy relaxed on the blankets but both men were rubbish at it and caught little more then seaweed. River, thankfully, planned for this eventuality and had packed hotdogs to roast on sticks over the campfire. Of course the Doctor wanted to try some clever way of building up the fire but Amy, Rory and River nixed that because they’d like to keep their eyebrows, thank you very much, but River did let the Doctor spark the fire with his sonic. River had built the pit rather expertly in the sand. They roasted the hotdogs and roasted marshmallows to make s’mores for dessert and enjoyed the fruit as well.

The sun set in a beautiful array of colours over the water. The stars came out so bright in the darkened sky, no noise or city lights to pollute the natural beauty around them. Amy and Rory nodded off not long after the sun set, full and tired from the day.

The Doctor, usually loathe to remain idle for too long went back to the water’s edge. He stood there lost in thought for long enough for River to start to worry. She walked across the beach to join him.

“Sweetie, what is it?” she asked softly, touching his arm gently and causing him to jump. Now she knew something was off, but what?

“Just thinking is all,” he told her but he had that look, she knew that look.

“You can tell me, you know,” she coaxed. 

“Spoilers,” he said shaking his head.

“So it has to do with me…or my parents. Is it bad?”

“River,” he sighed her name, “I…it’s just sometimes I wish it wasn’t always like this. You knowing my future, me knowing yours. Sometimes I wish we could just be, that you could come with us, but you know it can’t be that way.”

She knew that wasn’t all he was thinking about, not with that haunted look in his eyes, but it was more than he was usually willing to give.

“Still so many things to do,” she smiled kindly at him. “Maybe someday we’ll travel linearly,” at this he smiled sadly. “Besides, I don’t think the TARDIS could handle two psychopaths aboard her at all times.”

“Two? Oh…hey!” he laughed understanding her meaning. “So now I’m a psychopath too?”

“Weren’t you always a madman with a box?”

“C’mere,” he said pulling her into a hug. “I am a madman with a box and enjoying the company of my bespoke psychopath,” he kissed the top of her head

“What a pair we make,” she sighed then laughed. She ran her hands up his sides under his shirt and tickled his sides.

“Oi!” he exclaimed backing away and laughing. She liked seeing the dance of merriment in his eyes, the shadows temporarily chased away.

They chased each other around the beach for a while, River ran into the water to escape the Doctor’s greater speed owing to his longer legs. She stood in the water up to her thighs, panting from running and laughing and the Doctor just stood on the beach watching her.

“What, are you giving up?” she taunted.

“No, just pausing to admire beauty,” he told her with a smile. “Two rare beauties combined.”

“Two?” River asked.

“Glowing waters and you.”

“Glowing…oh,” she broke off with an awed sigh looking down at the waters around her. With every movement, every wave coming in and splash the waters were glowing brighter and brighter.

“It’s caused by phytoplankton, bioluminescence. Still it doesn’t make it any less beautiful, does it?” He said, joining her in the wondrous waters.

“No, it’s still beautiful,” She agreed.

He kissed her then, loving her even more for enjoying the simple joys and beauty the universe had to offer. They kissed and laughed and splashed in the water to their hearts’ content. Life wasn’t always running and saving and explosions and danger; sometimes there were moments like this. There were moments of playing and laughing and loving and he loved them too.


	4. Glows In Shades of Gold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of speculation spoilery in this chapter. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read and special thanks for the reviews! :)

River laughed gaily as she ran ahead of the Doctor, traipsing through the leaves on the ground. The leaves rustled and crunched and gave off a scent unique to the season, crisp and cool and a feeling of magic in the air.

It was fall, not just the season, but also fall for the Doctor. This face was nearing its’ end, he feared. He had reached the ‘fall of the eleventh’ and survived the ordeal of Trenzalore. River knew his name now. He felt her end was nearing too and it just might kill him. He didn’t want to think about that today, it crossed his mind far too often lately; he’d like a day without thinking about it.

He had brought them to Vermont so River could see the trees in all their wondrous colours. The whole forest seemed to glow in shades of gold. There were vibrant yellow leaves and vivid orange and brilliant scarlet in shades so bright in the sunlight they seemed neon. The light breeze caused more leaves to float down in an erratic flight.

Up ahead River had stopped near a large pile of leaves the wind had drifted against a small hill. She waited for the Doctor to catch up then bent over quickly, scooped up a handful of leaves and tossed them at him. She laughed at his reaction then tried to quickly dart away as he started to chase after her. The leaves he picked up and flung at her caught in her hair. He chased her around the trunk of a large, old maple tree and he got another face full of leaves for his troubles. He still managed to catch River around the middle and River threw her weight and the two of them flopped laughing onto the pile of leaves. 

They lay there examining leaves, looking at the myriad of colours swirled in different shades and patterns on them. They tried to discern if they reminded them of a nebula or an image; if one did it spawned a story that needed to be told. He loved the sound of her voice when she told her stories, loved hearing more about her life and he loved enthralled she was when he told his stories. His River Song, so beautiful, even when lying on a pile of leaves, or maybe she was even more beautiful in moments and places like this.

The Doctor pulled River on top of him and loved hearing her throaty laugh. She kissed him and he vowed he would remember this moment. The feel of her lips on his, the way her hair shone in the sunlight like curls of gold. The leaves all around them, the smell of autumn in the air. The memory of this fall day catalogued in a special place in his mind, able to be recalled when he would need to find a brighter place in the darker days ahead.


End file.
